Trunks type wearing article

ABSTRACT

A trunks-type garment has crotch region formed by two sheets that are superposed and bonded together. Extensions of these two sheets extending from a bottom of the crotch region of the garment are folded back onto the respective sheets of form lapels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a trunks-type garment and more particularly tosuch a garment suitable as disposable garment.

BACKGROUND ART

In many cases, a transition between front and rear bodies in a crotchregion of a trunks-type garment has conventionally been formed byputting and bonding a pair of sheets flat together along a margindefining the transition. Particularly for such a disposable typegarment, a nonwoven fabric or a plastic film has usually been used asstock material and bonding thereof has often been carried out by meansof hot melt adhesive or sealing techniques.

The prior art has already taken account of the fact that the margin forbonding the sheets together should not be dimensioned to be excessivelywide. Excessive wide margin for bonding would correspondingly increasean amount of the sheets to be used and, in addition, make the sheetsliable to be frayed and/or locally tensioned. Consequently, suchexcessively wide margin for bonding would make it difficult to obtain agood tailored garment. If the sheets are put flat and bonded togetheralong margins that are dimensioned to be sufficiently narrow, the sheetswould have a rigidity along the margin for bonding that is substantiallyhigher than a rigidity of the remaining portions. As a result, themargin for bonding may cause uncomfortable skin stimulation from whichthe garment wearer suffers. Nevertheless, reduction of the manufacturingcost is essential to the disposable garment and, to meet thisrequirement, the relatively simple manner of bonding has usually beenadopted, i.e., the sheets have been put and bonded flat together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to alleviate uncomfortable stimulationfrom which the wearer of a trunks-type garment has conventionallysuffered due to the presence of a margin for bonding even when thesheets forming the garment are put and bonded flat together along themargin for bonding in order to form a transition between front and rearbodies of the garment in a crotch region.

The object set forth above is achieved, according to this invention, bya trunks-type garment including a pair of sheets having U-shaped cutoutswhich are identical to each other in shape as well as in size whereinthe pair of sheets are put flat together so as to align said cutoutswith each other and respective peripheries of the cutouts put flat arebonded together to form a transition from a front body to a rear body ina crotch region.

The trunks-type garment of the present invention includes the pair ofsheets respectively have relatively long extensions which extend outwardfrom edges of the U-shape cutouts at bottoms of respective the U-shapedcutouts and are folded back onto inner surfaces of the sheets formingrespective said extensions.

According to one embodiment of this invention, the extensions are foldedback so as to describe annular curves in the vicinity of their proximalends and bonded to the inner surfaces of respective the sheets.

According to another embodiment of this invention, the pair of sheetsare made of a nonwoven fabric containing thermoplastic synthetic fibersand bonded to each other along the edges of the cutouts by use of hotmelt adhesive or sealing technique.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a partially cutaway trunks-typegarment according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along a line II—II in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the trunks type garment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the steps of completing a middle bodyof the garment from left- and right half middle bodies; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of thisinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Details of a trunks-type garment according to this invention will bemore fully understood from the description of disposable trunks givenhereunder as a specific embodiment of this invention with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

Disposable trunks 1 shown by FIG. 1 in a perspective view as partiallybroken away generally comprise left- and right-hand lateral bodies 2, 3destined to cover left- and right-hand lateral regions of a wearer'storso, respectively, and left- and right-half middle bodies 6, 7destined to cover front, rear and crotch regions of the wearer's torso.It should be understood here that the portion of the trunks 1 on theleft-hand as viewed in FIG. 1 is destined to be placed in front of thewearer's torso. The left-hand lateral body 2 has front and rear sideportions 8, 9 which are respectively bonded to front and rear sideportions 11, 12 of the left-half middle body 6. Similarly, theright-hand lateral body 3 has front and rear side portions 13, 14 whichare respectively bonded to front and rear side portions 16, 17 of theright-half middle body 7. The left- and right-half middle bodies 6, 7are respectively formed in the crotch region of the trunks 1 withU-shaped cutouts 18, 19 defining transitions between the front and rearside portions of these middle bodies 6, 7. The left- and right-halfmiddle bodies 6, 7 are bonded to each other along a sealing line 20defined by edges of the cutouts 18, 19. The respective bodies 2, 3, 6, 7are bonded one to another so as to form a waist-opening 21 and a pair ofleg-openings 22, 22 of the trunks 1. The left- and right-hand lateralbodies 2, 3 are respectively provided along the associated edges of saidwaist-opening 21 with elastic members 23, 24 bonded with a tension tothese bodies 2, 3 so that the trunks 1 may be elastically stretchableand contractible in its circumferential direction. Said cutouts 18, 19of the left- and right-half middle bodies 6, 7 are provided alongbottoms thereof with lapels-like portions 31, 32, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along a line II—II in FIG.1. The lapels-like portions 31, 32 of the left- and right-half middlebodies 6, 7 are respectively formed by folding portions thereofrespectively extending upward as indicated by imaginary lines back indirections as indicated by arrows A and B, respectively. The lapels-likeportions 31, 32 have their proximal ends 33, 34 defined by said bottomsof the respective cutouts 18, 19 and are folded back in the vicinity ofsaid proximal ends 33, 34 so that said lapel-like portions 31, 32present annular cross-sections as viewed transversely of the trunks 1.The lapels-like portions 31, 32 have their distal ends 36, 37, i.e.,their lower ends bonded to the inner surfaces of the associated middlebodies 6, 7 by means of hot melt adhesive layers 39, 39. The uppermostpoints 33A, 34A on the annular cross-sections presented by therespective lapels-like portions 31, 32 lie at a level higher than asection of the sealing line 20 extending along the bottoms of therespective U-shaped cutouts 18, 19. With the middle bodies 6, 7 of sucharrangement, there is no apprehension at least in the vicinity of thelapels-like portions 31, 32 that the sealing line 20 more or lessrigidified by sealing treatment might uncomfortably stimulate thewearer's skin. A nonwoven fabric of crimped synthetic fibers may be usedas stock material for the middle bodies 6, 7 to facilitate thelapels-like portions 31, 32 to be annularly deformed under a highelasticity characterizing such nonwoven fabric. The lapels-like portions31, 32 elastically deformed in this manner can fit the wearer's crotchregion without giving the wearer any feeling of incompatibility.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the trunks 1 and FIG. 4 is adiagram exemplarily illustrating the steps of assembling left- andright-half middle bodies into a complete middle body of the garment. InFIG. 3, the left- and right-hand lateral bodies 2, 3 are illustrated asbeing spaced from the middle bodies 6, 7 which have been bonded togetheralong the sealing line 20 defined by the edges of the respectiveU-shaped cutouts 18, 19. FIG. 4 illustrates a unit section ofcontinuously fed first sheet 106 destined to form the left-half middlebody 6 lying above a unit section of continuously fed second sheet 107destined to form the right-half middle body 7. The first and secondsheets 106, 107 are substantially identical to each other and formed inthe transversely middle with substantially oval through-holes 108, 108,respectively. At one of longitudinally opposite ends of each the ovalthrough-hole 108, the first sheet 106 has an extension 131A destined toform the lapels-like portion 31 and the second sheet 107 correspondinglyhas an extension 132A destined to form the lapels-like portion 32. Theseextensions 131A, 132A inwardly protrude from the edges of the respectivethrough-holes 108. Now the first and second sheets 106, 107 are placedone upon another with their through-holes 108 being in alignment andbonded together along a line 120 defined by a periphery of thethrough-hole 108 of the second sheet 107. Then the first and secondsheets 106, 107 are cut along a line P—P dividing the through-hole 108into left and right halves and along a line Q—Q dividing a section ofthe sheets 106, 107 defined between each pair of adjacent through-holes108, 108 into left and right halves. Thereafter, the respectiveextensions 131A, 132A are folded back in directions as indicated byarrows A, B, followed by bonding these extensions 131A, 132A to thefirst and second sheets 106, 107, respectively, to obtain the assembledleft- and right-half middle bodies 6, 7 as shown in FIG. 3.

In the course of making the trunks 1, the through-holes 108 are cut outfrom the first and second sheets 106, 107 with the extensions 131A, 132Aremaining on the peripheries of the respective through-holes 108. Inthis manner, a loss of the stock material for the first and secondsheets 106, 107 can be minimized, i.e., the stock material can beeffectively utilized. The trunks 1 may be made in accordance with theprocedure as has been described above to avoid an additional cost forstock material as well as labor which would be required if thelapels-like portions 31, 32 are provided separately of the first andsecond sheets 106, 107. In the case of the trunks for adult, theextensions 131A, 132A are preferably dimensioned to be 20˜80 mmlongitudinally and 60˜150 mm transversely of the first and second sheets106, 107.

While it will be apparent from FIG. 4 that two sets of left- andright-half middle bodies 6, 7 are obtained by dividing a pair ofthrough-holes 108, 108 placed one upon another along the line P—P, FIG.3 shows only one of these two sets. Referring again to FIG. 4,extensions 131B, 132B opposed to the extensions 131A, 131B,respectively, are used to obtain the remaining one of the two sets.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of thisinvention. According to this embodiment of the trunks 1, the lapels-likeportions 31, 32 are merely folded back at the proximal ends thereof anddo not describe the annular cross-sections as seen in FIG. 2. Thisembodiment differs from the embodiment previously described in referencewith FIG. 2 also in that the lapels-like portions 31, 32 are bonded tothe left- and right-half middle bodies 6, 7 neither at their lower ends36, 37 nor elsewhere.

To realize this invention, various stock materials such as a nonwovenfabric, a woven fabric and a plastic film may be used to form therespective bodies 2, 3, 6, 7. These stock materials may be bonded one toanother by use of appropriate adhesives such as hot melt adhesive, orheat- or ultrasonic sealing technique. This invention allows the trunks1 to be made by a relatively simple method at a cost sufficiently low toconsume the trunks 1 as disposable article. The trunks 1 according tothis invention can be used as various disposable garments such as shortsfor incontinent patients or training pants for babies.

The disposable trunks-type garments according to this invention includesthe crotch regions in which a pair of sheets are put flat and bondedtogether along the sealing line. However, the pair of lapels-likeportions provided in the crotch regions function to alleviate astimulation from which the wearer's skin would otherwise suffer due tothe portions of the sheets put flat and bonded together.

What is claimed is:
 1. A trunks-type garment having a front bodyportion, a rear body portion and a crotch region, which trunks-typegarment comprises: a pair of sheets having U-shaped cutouts which areidentical to each other in shape as well as in size, said pair of sheetsbeing positioned flat together so as to align said U-shaped cutouts witheach other, said U-shaped cutouts having peripheral portions that arepositioned flat and are bonded together to form a transition from thefront body to the rear body in the crotch region, said pair of sheetshaving extensions which extend outward from edges of said U-shapecutouts at bottoms thereof, which extensions are folded back onto innersurfaces of said pair of sheets.
 2. The garment according to claim 1,wherein said extensions are folded back so as to describe annular curvesin a vicinity of proximal ends thereof and are bonded to the innersurfaces of said pair of sheets.
 3. The garment according to claim 1,wherein said pair of sheets are made of a nonwoven fabric containingthermoplastic synthetic fibers and are bonded to each other along edgesof said U-shaped cutouts.
 4. The garment according to claim 2, whereinsaid pair of sheets are made of a nonwoven fabric containingthermoplastic synthetic fibers and are bonded to each other along edgesof said U-shaped cutouts.
 5. The garment according to claim 3, whereinthe pair of sheets are bonded to each other along edges of said U-shapedcutouts by means of one of a hot melt adhesive and a sealing technique.6. The garment according to claim 4, wherein the pair of sheets arebonded to each other along edges of said U-shaped cutouts by means ofone of a hot melt adhesive and a sealing technique.